Homeowners insurance usually protects against meteorites

In the unlikely event that a meteor blast damages your home, most policies will cover it.

A few days ago, most people would have chuckled at an inquiry about homeowners insurance coverage against a meteor blast or a meteorite strike, but after the explosion above Chelyabinsk, Russia, it is suddenly a topic that has piqued curiosity on a much more sober level.

Indeed, such an event is still exceptionally unlikely, but it is still good to know whether or not protection is there.

Residents in that part of Siberia are now facing repairs of a minor nature to their homes, particularly to broken windows, as a result of the shock wave from the meteor that exploded over the area on Friday. Should that event have occurred in the United States, the likelihood is that homeowners insurance would have provided coverage for the damage.

Homeowners insurance policyholders are advised to consult their policies to learn more.

For the homeowners insurance customers to whom this comes as a surprise, it has been recommended that they have a look at their policies in order to become more familiar with their coverage. The fine print will usually list a wide range of different damage causing perils, and among them is often a meteorite strike or explosions such as sonic blasts from meteors.

According to the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America associate vice president of education and research, Bill Wilson, “Insurance companies love to cover things that are unlikely to happen.” He also added within his email that “Yes, most homeowners and commercial-property policies cover meteor strikes.”

The majority of policies, said Wilson, are written on a basis of “open perils” for the coverage of damage to structures that are caused by events that have not been precisely indicated within the language of the homeowners insurance policy. Some other policies are written on a basis of “named perils”, which means that only the events that are specifically mentioned will be included within the coverage. That said, even those that specifically name the covered perils will frequently provide coverage against the damage of objects that fall from the sky.